Speak Up, I Can't Hear You

The next morning, Ren Suo and the others changed into their uniforms in the dormitory – not the camouflage uniforms from military training, but a combination of gray trousers and a gray vest, which looked like a degraded version of the Black Vest's attire. They then went to the mess hall for breakfast. After eating, they returned to the front of the dormitory building to assemble and call out their numbers.

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

After the thirty people had called out their numbers once, Zhao Jingzhong, with a booming voice, said, "Too quiet! Are you not awake? Again!"

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

"Louder! I can't hear you!"

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

After the third roll call, Zhao Jingzhong was finally satisfied. He led them to a large sports field within the training base.

There were already many teams scattered around the field. Some were civil servant teams, and some were soldiers training alone. Ren Suo looked around and estimated the track was about a kilometer long. Their first training item was to run one kilometer!

Ren Suo and the others weren't afraid of this. Entering the civil service required a physical fitness test anyway. Although they varied in build, running a kilometer wasn't a big problem.

However, Zhao Jingzhong said they weren't just running; they had to cultivate while running!

"The sports field here is not an ordinary sports field. Although it has a track, a soccer field, grass, goalposts, and even people playing soccer... it is not ordinary," Zhao Jingzhong said. "This place has been specially arranged by professionals and is a cultivation area with particularly abundant spiritual energy!"

"I cannot disclose the specific technology, but the spiritual energy in the sports field space is three times that of other environments. Cultivating here will yield twice the results with half the effort, allowing you to enter a state faster. There are six such sports fields in the training base, specifically used for cultivation."

Someone asked, "Instructor, the sports field doesn't have a roof. Won't the spiritual energy escape?"

"It won't escape," Zhao Jingzhong seemed to have undergone professional training and knew that trainees would ask such questions. The answer almost came out automatically: "Spiritual energy is just what we call it. It's not a gas; it's an invisible energy that fills the entire universe. It won't dissipate and gather due to material structure."

"Instructor, where is the spiritual energy most abundant?"

"Instructor, where exactly does the spiritual energy start to surge? The edge of the track? 1 meter outside the edge of the track? 2 meters?"

"Instructor..."

Zhao Jingzhong became impatient and immediately got angry: "Stop asking! I'm going to talk about the cultivation method. If you don't listen, I won't say it a second time! You..."

The scene quickly quieted down. Zhao Jingzhong was very satisfied and said, "This is the most basic cultivation method. First, you must be in this kind of..."

"Louder! I can't hear you!"

Zhao Jingzhong was instantly silenced and roared, "Who said that?! Step forward!"

No one spoke. Zhao Jingzhong scanned the area, his heart also inexplicably shocked – he hadn't seen anyone speak just now. Moreover, the voice didn't come from among the trainees, but from above the trainees.

However, there was no doubt that the person who said this was among the trainees. It was just that Zhao Jingzhong hadn't found them, which was what angered him the most. He was one of the first batch of internal test warriors transferred from the military to the National Security Bureau. He had served as a squad leader in the military and still carried military habits, finding this kind of defiance and deliberate disobedience to superiors most intolerable.

"I'll say it again, immediately, step forward!"

Zhao Jingzhong waited for three seconds. Seeing that no one came out, his face turned cold, and he roared, "Everyone, prepare for push-ups!"

The trainees looked at each other. Some obediently lay down to prepare, but others didn't intend to comply, such as the arrogant Jie Qiansi: "Why?"

"Why? Because someone among you is causing trouble and won't voluntarily come out and admit their mistake, so everyone will be punished!"

"Why should everyone be punished?" Jie Qiansi retorted. He wasn't a college student in an ivory tower. Due to his family background, he was quite knowledgeable: "You're incompetent and can't find the troublemaker, so you're taking your anger out on all of us? Who do you think you are?"

Zhao Jingzhong looked at Jie Qiansi coldly and said, "Because you are a collective!"

"A collective? Don't bring your military stuff here," Jie Qiansi scoffed. "We just met yesterday. I don't even know their names, and I can't recognize all their faces. A collective? Aren't you part of our collective? Then why aren't you doing it?"

"We'll all be going our separate ways in five days to contribute to the moderately prosperous society of Xuan Country. We came here to learn, not to watch you make a fool of yourself and vent your anger!"

"What's more, Xuan Country has been undergoing reform and opening up for decades. Do you still want to go back to feudal society and practice collective punishment? Either you have the guts to find the person who offended you yourself, or you conduct the class normally! We are not your soldiers, we don't need to follow your rules. Are we all going to be shot if someone here commits murder?"

Jie Qiansi naturally felt very satisfied after his round of verbal attacks. More importantly, he was right – why should everyone be punished? No normal person would want to be implicated by someone else's mistakes. If they were colleagues, comrades, or acquaintances, one could perhaps say 'collusion', but they barely knew each other, didn't even know each other's names, were completely unfamiliar, and didn't know who did it. In this situation, they naturally weren't willing to take responsibility.

Jie Qiansi's words were also carefully considered before being spoken. They accurately hit the key points, placing himself on the side of the vast majority of the people and establishing his prestige. Although the 'WeChat group' was temporarily ineffective, Jie Qiansi knew that after they left, they would be highly sought after in various places. Making friends with others now and resisting this unreasonable behavior together was equivalent to having 'friendship' like comrades.

Most importantly, Jie Qiansi was certain that Zhao Jingzhong would eventually teach them how to cultivate. Otherwise, if Jie Qiansi reported this matter, he would definitely not fare well.

However, Jie Qiansi still couldn't fully understand the mindset of these former soldiers – Zhao Jingzhong's face turned cold, and he actually attacked him directly!

"I think you're just like that troublesome little bastard!"

Zhao Jingzhong was incredibly fast, his iron hands moving with powerful force. Jie Qiansi was originally just a young master. Although he went to the gym occasionally, he was definitely not good at fighting and didn't even have time to retreat in the face of Zhao Jingzhong's attack.

However, two pairs of hands suddenly reached out from the side. The two fists on the left accurately struck Zhao Jingzhong's elbows, then followed with a twist and press, restraining Zhao Jingzhong's attack; the two palms on the right patted Zhao Jingzhong's shoulders, looking like they were just putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Instructor, there's no need to resort to violence," Ren Suo said with a chuckle. "It's just push-ups, we'll do them."

"Yeah," Zhao Huo, who was holding Zhao Jingzhong's shoulder, also smiled. "We'll persuade him and stop him from talking nonsense."

Zhao Jingzhong gave them a deep look, forcefully broke free from their hands, snorted coldly, and walked back.

Ren Suo secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Before coming, to prevent any mishaps, or perhaps simply not wanting to waste it, he had equipped "Introduction to Fighting". When he saw Zhao Jingzhong about to attack Jie Qiansi, Ren Suo took the initiative to intervene.

Firstly, although Jie Qiansi was very flamboyant and power-hungry, he was very good at building relationships – last night he went to the supermarket and bought a lot of food for his roommates to eat together; secondly, he also wanted to see how effective "Introduction to Fighting" could be.

The result was quite good. Although Zhao Jingzhong didn't use any 'special skills', he looked like a veteran and his combat strength was definitely above average among ordinary people. Ren Suo being able to suppress him by surprise was enough to show that Ren Suo's combat strength had basically reached the level of a veteran's fighting skills.

And he also became famous in the process. After all, Zhao Jingzhong was not an ordinary person; he was a Transcendent responsible for teaching them. Ren Suo being able to subdue him in one move was enough to make others look at him differently.

Zhao Huo also didn't seem weak. Perhaps he was also a martial artist who had practiced for a while. Ren Suo didn't know who was stronger between them. It seemed that those who could be selected were all capable individuals.

Qiao Muyi and Li Qingxuan were looking over here, so Ren Suo turned his head and smiled at them – his favorability should have increased by +1, right?

"What you said makes sense," Zhao Jingzhong seemed to have lightly let go of what just happened and said indifferently, "Then let's begin the formal training."

"Listen carefully, this cultivation mantra requires running while performing breathing exercises to be effective. The breathing method must be strictly followed, circulating 64 times before stopping. Any slight disorder will render all efforts futile."

"Each breathing exercise is a breath. Long breaths should be very slow, while short breaths are within one second. The specific process is: three long, one short, two long, three short..."

"If the breathing exercise is effective and successful, the spiritual energy in the air will be drawn into your body. Completing one cycle of breathing is considered one cultivation session. After cultivating dozens of times, you will basically be able to generate your own 'Qi Vortex'."

Zhao Jingzhong explained the breathing method three times and pointed to the track, saying, "Alright, you can start practicing now."

"Note," as if remembering something, Zhao Jingzhong added, "Although your physiques are considered talented, if you cannot form a Qi Vortex within five days, it means your talent is nothing special..."